AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXTI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXTI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 428,200 shares, an increase of 7.7% from the October 15th total of 397,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 202,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AXTI. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of AXT in a research report on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com cut AXT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of AXT in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, TheStreet lowered AXT from a “c-” rating to a “d” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.49.

AXT Stock Performance

AXT stock opened at $2.04 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.03 million, a PE ratio of -6.58 and a beta of 2.05. AXT has a 52 week low of $1.89 and a 52 week high of $6.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXT

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. increased its stake in AXT by 28.2% during the third quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 2,527,167 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,065,000 after acquiring an additional 556,126 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AXT by 9.0% during the first quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 1,562,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,218,000 after acquiring an additional 128,838 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AXT by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,460,450 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 225,000 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in AXT by 1.9% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,244,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,952,000 after acquiring an additional 23,200 shares during the period. Finally, Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in AXT by 1.8% during the third quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,232,069 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,957,000 after acquiring an additional 21,973 shares during the period. 53.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AXT

AXT, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes compound and single element semiconductor substrates. It produces semiconductor substrates using its proprietary vertical gradient freeze technology. The company offers indium phosphide for use in data center connectivity using light/lasers, 5G communications, fiber optic lasers and detectors, passive optical networks, silicon photonics, photonic integrated circuits, terrestrial solar cells, RF amplifier and switching, infrared light-emitting diode (LEDS) motion control, lidar for robotics and autonomous vehicles, and infrared thermal imaging.